A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California
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Santa Catalina Island (Pimu)
| Species of Amphibians and Reptiles Found on Santa Catalina Island (Not all of the animals shown below were found on the island, but they represent species that have been found there.) |
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The Santa Catalina Island record for this species is based on only one specimen found in 1941. A three-year US Geological Survey biodiversity survey of the island failed to find any evidence of the species, suggesting that the single specimen was brought to the island from the Southern California mainland, probably with shipments of ranching material, and it failed to establish a population. (Backlin A, Compton S, Kahancza Z, Fisher R. 2005, cited in Jockusch EL, Hansen RW, Fisher RN, Wake DB. 2020. Slender salamanders (genus Batrachoseps) reveal Southern California to be a center for the diversification, persistence, and introduction of salamander lineages. PeerJ 8:e9599 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9599) |
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| Adult, Marin County | Adult, Contra Costa County | Adult, Contra Costa County | |
Batrachoseps major - Southern California (Garden) Slender Salamander |
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This species is also thought to have been introduced to the island in the transport of goods from the Southern California mainland beginning in the mid 19th century. (Jockusch EL, Hansen RW, Fisher RN, Wake DB. 2020. Slender salamanders (genus Batrachoseps) reveal Southern California to be a center for the diversification, persistence, and introduction of salamander lineages. PeerJ 8:e9599 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9599) |
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| Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Isaac Krone | Adults Santa Catalina Island © Isaac Krone |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca - Baja California Treefrog |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
Adult, Los Angeles County | Adult, San Diego County |
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| Adult male, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
Large adult female, San Diego County | Adult male, Merced County | Adult female, Stanislaus County |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Adult California Kingsnake eating a Side-blotched Lizard, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Adult California Kingsnake eating a lizard, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Adult, Riverside County | Adult, Tuolumne County | Adult, San Diego County | |
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| This snake was found at a home in the mountains of Santa Catalina Island. | Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | |||
| A 2024 study concludes that Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes on Santa Catalina Island have learned to be more agressive than their mainland relatives to protect themselves from non-native animals, such as feral dogs and cats, deer, bison, and feral pigs: "...an insular population of southern Pacific rattlesnakes exhibits paradoxically increased defensiveness relative to mainland conspecifics, and we have attributed it to human introductions of non-native mammalian predators and antagonists." "...by introducing mammalian predators and antagonists to Catalina, humans have made encounters with the rattlesnakes more dangerous...." (Hayes, W.K.; Person, C.E.; Fox, G.A.; King, J.L.; Briggs, E.; Gren, E.C.K. Paradoxical Exception to Island Tameness: Increased Defensiveness in an Insular Population of Rattlesnakes. Toxins 2024, 16, 157. Published: 18 March 2024) |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
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| Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
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Diodophis punctatus modestus - San Bernardino Ring-necked Snake |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | |||
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| Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith | |||
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
Adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm |
Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Jeff Lemm | Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Adult male, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County | |||
Possibly occurring on Santa Catalina Island |
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Adult, green phase, Grant County, Washington |
Adult, brown phase, Grant County, Washington |
Adult, Washington County, Utah | |
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| Adult, San Bernardino County | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, Riverside County | |
| Reported from one record, but probably not present | |||
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| Adult, Riverside County | Adult, Kern County | ||
| Santa Catalina Island |
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| Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm | Santa Catalina Island © Matthias Lemm |
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| Santa Catalina Island outside Avalon in the mid 1990s © Warren Nafis | Santa Catalina Island from Space, NASA | ||
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